What Drives Them
Finally, we asked the 603 small business owners what drove them and the top two answers, echoing almost every other study we have conducted among the affluent, were all about control and autonomy (Exhibit 8). Almost without exception, the respondents cited the desire to control their own lives as their key motivation, and almost as many cited their desire to be their own boss. As we shall see in our next article, that desire for control and autonomy not only drives the way small business owners think about their finances, but also dictates the way that their financial advisors should interact with them.
It is interesting to note that family-owned and corporate small business owners diverge as we move down their list of motivations. For instance, family business owners were almost three times more likely to say they were motivated by the desire to build or do something significant; their business was both the public face of their family and their legacy, and they want to be sure it reflects upon them favorably.
Understandably, those on the corporate side were far less likely to be worried, as their name was not linked with the history and actions of their company. That may also explain why, for better or worse (for richer or poorer), family business owners were far less concerned about becoming wealthy than their corporate counterparts; the family image came before the bottom line.
Lastly, and understandably, small business owners were far more motivated to want to work with their family (though it's interesting to note that less than half of them cited that as a driving motivation). Those differences in motivation will become more apparent as we began to more closely examine the financial lives of small business owners. Hannah Shaw Grove is managing director and chief marketing officer of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. Russ Alan Prince is president of the consulting firm Prince & Associates.